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Health special 3: How far could artificial intelligence transform medicine?

From diagnosing diseases to developing drugs, AI technology promises to improve health outcomes. But what are the pitfalls? And how soon might it become a reality?

Machine learning has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years. Bigger, more powerful computers can crunch ever more amounts of data, analysing complex information just as accurately, it’s claimed, as the best specialists and at speeds humans can never achieve. With the potential to make a significant difference to healthcare - helping to diagnose disease, summarise patients’ medical notes, even predict health conditions years before any symptoms appear. But how long before the potential benefits become a reality? And what are the possible pitfalls? Join David Aaronovitch and a panel of guests to find out.

Guests:
Madhumita Murgia, Artificial Intelligence Editor, Financial Times and author of Code Dependent: Living in the Shadow of AI
Mihaela van der Schaar, Professor of Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence and Medicine at Cambridge University
Pearse Keane, Consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital and a Professor of Artificial Medical Intelligence at UCL
Dr Jessica Morley, Post-doctoral researcher at the Digital Ethics Centre, Yale University

Presenter: David Aaronovitch
Producers: Sally Abrahams and Rosamund Jones
Sound engineers: Dafydd Evans and Neil Churchill
Editor: Richard Vadon

Available now

37 minutes

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  • Thu 25 Jul 2024 16:00
  • Mon 29 Jul 2024 20:00

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